Stall vs Stale - What's the difference?
stall | stale |
(countable) A compartment for a single animal in a stable or cattle shed.
A stable; a place for cattle.
* Dryden
A bench or table on which small articles of merchandise are exposed for sale.
* John Gay
(countable) A small open-fronted shop, for example in a market.
* 1900', , Chapter I,
A very small room used for a shower or a toilet.
* (rfdate) John Updike, Rabbit at Rest ,
(countable) A seat in a theatre close to and (about) level with the stage; traditionally, a seat with arms, or otherwise partly enclosed, as distinguished from the benches, sofas, etc.
(aeronautics) Loss of lift due to an airfoil's critical angle of attack being exceeded.
(paganism, and, Heathenry) An Heathen altar, typically an indoor one, as contrasted with a more substantial outdoor harrow .
* {{quote-book
, year=1989
, author=Edred Thorsson
, title=A Book of Troth
, publisher=Llewellyn Publications
, chapter=
, volume=
, volume_plain=
, section=
, url=
, isbn=9780875427775
, page=156
, passage=In a private rite, a ring is drawn on the ground around a harrow or before an indoor stall .}}
* {{quote-book
, year=2006
, author=Selene Silverwind
, title=Everything you need to know about Paganism
, publisher=David & Charles
, chapter=Asatruar Tools and Practices
* {{quote-book
, year=2006
, author=Mark Puryear
, publisher=iUniverse
, title=The Nature of Asatru: An Overview of the Ideals and Philosophy of the Indigenous Religion of Northern Europe
A seat in a church, especially one next to the chancel or choir, reserved for church officials and dignitaries.
A church office that entitles the incumbent to the use of a church stall.
* 1910 [1840], , P. F. Collier edition,
A sheath to protect the finger.
(mining) The space left by excavation between pillars.
To put (an animal etc) in a stall.
* Dryden
To fatten.
To come to a standstill.
To plunge into mire or snow so as not to be able to get on; to set; to fix.
* E. E. Hale
(aeronautics) To exceed the critical angle of attack, resulting in total loss of lift.
(obsolete) To live in, or as if in, a stall; to dwell.
* Shakespeare
(obsolete) To be stuck, as in mire or snow; to stick fast.
(obsolete) To be tired of eating, as cattle.
To place in an office with the customary formalities; to install.
To forestall; to anticipate.
* Massinger
To keep close; to keep secret.
* Shakespeare
An action that is intended to cause or actually causes delay.
To employ delaying tactics against
To employ delaying tactics
(crime, obsolete) Theft; the act of stealing.
* 1340 , Ayenbite 9:
(crime, obsolete) Stealth, used in the phrase by stale .
* Sawles Warde'' in ''Cott. Hom. , 249:
A long, thin handle, as of rakes, axes, etc.
* 12th century , Sidonius Glosses'' in ''Anecd. Oxon. , I v 59 22:
* Langland, Piers Plowman (Vesp. MS), C xxii 279:
* 1742 , W. Ellis, London & Country Brewer 4th ed., I 61:
* 1890 February 4, Manchester Guardian , 12 3:
(dialectical) The posts and rungs composing a ladder.
* 13th century , Ancrene Riwle , 160:
* Shoreham Poems , I 49:
* 1887 , W. D. Parish & al., Kentish Dial.
(botany, obsolete) The stem of a plant.
The shaft of an arrow, spear, etc.
* 1553 , J. Brende translating Q. Curtius Rufus, Hist. , IX
* G. Chapman translating Homer, Iliad , IV 173:
(obsolete) To make a ladder by joining rungs ("stales") between the posts.
* 1492 in Archæol. Cant. , XVI 304:
(military, obsolete) A fixed position, particularly a soldier's in a battle-line.
* in C. L. Kingsford, Chrons. London (1905), 123:
* 1485 , , Le Morte d'Arthur , V xi 179
(chess, uncommon) A stalemate; a stalemated game.
* 1423 , Kingis Quair , CLXIX:
* 1625 , , Essays , 65
(military, obsolete) An ambush.
* Wyntoun Cron. , IX viii 811:
* 1513 , G. Douglas translating Virgil, Æneid , XI x 96:
* 1577 , R. Holinshed, Chron. , II 1479 2:
(obsolete) A band of armed men or hunters.
* in N. H. Nicolas, Hist. Royal Navy (1847), II 491:
* 14th century , Morte Arthur , 1355:
* J. Bellenden translating H. Boece, Hyst. & Cron. Scotl. , XII xvi 184:
* 1577 , R. Holinshed, Hist. Scotl.'', 471 2 in ''Chron. , I:
(Scottish, military, obsolete) The main force of an army.
* 1532 in 1836, State Papers Henry VIII , IV 626:
(chess, obsolete) At a standstill; stalemated.
* Ashmolean MS 344, 21:
(chess, uncommon, transitive) To stalemate.
* Ashmole MS 344, 7:
* 1903 , H. J. R. Murray, Brit. Chess. Mag. , 283:
(chess, obsolete, intransitive) To be stalemated.
* 1597 , A. Montgomerie, Cherrie & Slae , 202:
(livestock, obsolete) Urine, especially used of horses and cattle.
* 14th c. , Stockh. Medical MS. in Anglia XVIII.299:
* 1535 , (Miles Coverdale) translating the (Bible), "Isaiah", XXXVI.100:
* 1548 , Robert Record, Vrinal of Physick , XI.89:
* 1583 , B. Melbancke, Philotimus :
* , I.48:
* (William Shakespeare), Antony & Cleopatra , I.iv.62:
* 1698 , J. Fryer, New Acct. E.-India & Persia , p.242:
* 1733 , W. Ellis, Chiltern & Vale Farming , p.122:
(livestock, obsolete, intransitive) To urinate, especially used of horses and cattle.
* 15th century , Lawis Gild'', X in ''Ancient Laws and Customs of the Burghs of Scotland , 68:
* 1530 , ,
* 1631 , , Bartholmew Fayre I iv 64:
* 1663 , T. Killigrew, Parson's Wedding , I iii:
* 1903 , , Five Nations , 150:
* Sublime":
* 1928 , (Siegfried Sassoon), Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man , Penguin 2013, page 35:
(alcohol, obsolete) Clear, free of dregs and lees; old and strong.
* K. Horn (Laud), 383:
* , Sir Thopas , 52:
No longer fresh, in reference to food, urine, straw, wounds, etc.
* 1530 , ,
* Wyll of Deuill , C 2 b:
No longer fresh, new, or interesting, in reference to ideas and immaterial things; cliche, hackneyed, dated.
* 1562 , in J. Heywood, Proverbs & Epigrams (1867), 95:
* 1579 , in G. Harvey, letter book, 60:
* 1604 , , I ii 133:
* 1822 March, , London Magazine , 284 1:
No longer nubile or suitable for marriage, in reference to people; past one's prime.
* J. Jeffere, Bugbears , I ii 108:
* 1742 , T. Short, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society , 42 226:
(agriculture, obsolete) Fallow, in reference to land.
* 1764 , Museum Rusticum , II 306:
(legal) Unreasonably long in coming, in reference to claims and actions.
* 1769 , , Common Laws of England , IV xv 211:
Worn out, particularly due to age or over-exertion, in reference to athletes and animals in competition.
* 1856 , "Stonehenge", Manual of British Rural Sports , II i vi §7 335:
* 1885 May 28, Truth , 853 2:
(finance) Out of date, unpaid for an unreasonable amount of time, particularly in reference to checks.
* 1901 , Business Terms & Phrases second edition, 199:
(colloquial) Something stale; a loaf of bread or the like that is no longer fresh.
* 1874 , , Far from the Madding Crowd , II iii 39:
* 1937 , , Road to Wigan Pier , I i 15:
(of alcohol, obsolete, transitive) To make stale; to age in order to clear and strengthen (a drink, especially beer).
* Promp. Parv. , 472 1:
* 1826 , Art of Brewing , second edition, 106:
To make stale; to cause to go out of fashion or currency; to diminish the novelty or interest of, particularly by excessive exposure or consumption.
* 1601 , , Fountaine of Self-love , 36:
* 1601 , Ben Jonson, Every Man in his Humor , I iv:
* , Antony & Cleopatra , II ii 241:
* 1863 , W. W. Story, Roba di Roma , I i 7:
To become stale; to grow odious from excessive exposure or consumption.
* 1717 , E. Erskine, Serm. in Wks. , 50 1:
* 1893 , "Q", Delectable Duchy , 325:
(alcohol) To become stale; to grow unpleasant from age.
* 1742 , W. Ellis, London & Country Brewer , 4th ed., I 64:
(falconry, hunting, obsolete) A live bird to lure birds of prey or others of its kind into a trap.
* Promp. Parv. , 472 1:
* 1579 , , Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans , "Sylla", 515:
* 1608 , R. Tofte translating , Satyres , IV 56:
(obsolete) Any lure, particularly in reference to people used as live bait.
* ", Certayne Bokes :
* 1577 , , Chronicles , "The Historie of England, from the Time that It Was First Inhabited, Vntill the Time that It Was Last Conquered", 79 2:
* 1579 , J. Stubbs, Discouerie Gaping Gulf
* 1615 , , A Relation of a Iourney begun An: Dom: 1610 , I 66:
* 1670 , J. Eachard, Grounds Contempt of Clergy , 88:
(crime, obsolete) An accomplice of a thief or criminal acting as bait.
* 1526 , W. Bonde, Pylgrimage of Perfection , III:
* 1633 , S. Marmion, Fine Compan. , III iv:
(obsolete) a partner whose beloved abandons or torments him in favor of another.
* 1578 , J. Lyly, Euphues , 33:
* 1588 , T. Hughes, Misfortunes Arthur , I ii 3:
* 1611 , T. Middleton & al., Roaring Girle :
* , Comedy of Errors , II i 100:
* J. Fletcher & al. Little French Lawyer , III iv:
(obsolete) A patsy, a pawn, someone used under some false pretext to forward another's (usu. sinister) designs; a stalking horse.
* 1580 , E. Grindal in 1710, J. Strype, Hist. E. Grindal , 252:
* 1595 , Part 3, III iii 260:
* 1614 , W. Raleigh, Hist. World , I iv iii §19 239:
* 1711 , J. Puckle, Club 20:
(crime, obsolete) A prostitute of the lowest sort; any wanton woman.
* 1600 , , II ii 23:
* 1606 , S. Daniel, Queenes Arcadia , II i:
* , Acts & Monuments , 265:
(hunting, obsolete) Any decoy, either stuffed or manufactured.
* 1681 , J. Flavell, Method of Grace , XXXV 588:
* 1888 , G. M. Fenn, Dick o' the Fens , 53:
(rare, obsolete, transitive) To serve as a decoy, to lure.
* 1557 , Tottel's Misc. , 198:
----
In transitive terms the difference between stall and stale
is that stall is to employ delaying tactics against while stale is to make stale; to cause to go out of fashion or currency; to diminish the novelty or interest of, particularly by excessive exposure or consumption.In intransitive terms the difference between stall and stale
is that stall is to employ delaying tactics while stale is to become stale; to grow odious from excessive exposure or consumption.In obsolete terms the difference between stall and stale
is that stall is to be tired of eating, as cattle while stale is a patsy, a pawn, someone used under some false pretext to forward another's (usu. sinister) designs; a stalking horse.As an adjective stale is
at a standstill; stalemated.stall
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) stall, from (etyl) , Old Norse stallr. Cognate with (stand).Noun
(en noun)- At last he found a stall where oxen stood.
- how peddlers' stalls with glittering toys are laid
- He looked in vain into the stalls for the butcher who had sold fresh meat twice a week, on market days...
- Rabbit eases from the king-size bed, goes into their bathroom with its rose-colored one-piece Fiberglas tub and shower stall , and urinates into the toilet of a matching rose porcelain.
citation, isbn=9780715324868 , page=117 , passage=Some Asatruar kindreds call their indoor altars stalls and their outdoor altars harrows.}}
citation, isbn=9780595389643 , page=237 , passage=Stalli (STAL-i) - Altar .}}
- When he had been some months installed there as a priest-in-charge, he received a prebendal stall , thanks to the same patrons, in the collegiate church of Sainte-Croix.
Verb
(en verb)- to stall an ox
- where King Latinus then his oxen stalled
- to stall cattle
- to stall a cart
- His horses had been stalled in the snow.
- We could not stall together / In the whole world.
- (Shakespeare)
- not to be stall'd by my report
- Stall this in your bosom.
Etymology 2
Noun
(en noun)- His encounters with security, reception, the secretary, and the assistant were all stalls until the general manager's attorney arrived.
Verb
(en verb)- He stalled the creditors as long as he could.
- Soon it became clear that she was stalling to give him time to get away.
stale
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl), from (etyl) stalu, from (etyl) Oxford English Dictionary . "Stale, n. 1".Noun
(en noun)- Ine þise heste is vorbode roberie]], [[theft, þiefþe, stale , and gavel.
- Hire wune is to cumen bi stale ...hwen me least cweneð.
Etymology 2
From (etyl), from (etyl) stalu, from (etyl) , which became English stele and stela.Noun
(en noun)- Ansae et ansulae alicuius rei sunt illa eminentia in illa re per quam capi possit .i. ‘stale ’.
- And lerede men a ladel bygge with a long stale .
- In Case your Cask is a Butt,...have ready boiling...Water, which put in, and, with a long Stale and a little Birch fastened to its End, scrub the Bottom.
- You came to me with the axe head in one hand and the stale in the other.
- Scheome. and pine...beoð þe two leddre]] stalen'. þet beoð upriht to þe heouene. and bitweonen þeos ' stalen beoð þe tindes i-vestned of alle gode þeauwes. bi hwuche me of [[heaven, heouene.
- Þis]] ilke laddre is charite, [[the, Þe stales gode þeawis.
- Stales , the staves, or risings of a ladder, or the staves of a rack in a stable.
- The Surgians]] cut of the stale of that shaft in suche wise, that they moued not the heade that was [[within, wythin the fleshe.
- ...seeing th'arrowes stale without.
Alternative forms
* stele (botanical, prefered ) * steal, stele (dialectical ) * steel, stail (arhaic )Synonyms
* handle (grip of tools, generally ) * haft (handle of axes ) * shaft (body of arrows, spears, etc. ) * stem (plants )Verb
- For stalyng of the ladders of the Churche xx]] [[old penny, d.
Etymology 3
From (etyl) stail, from (etyl) . Related to (stall) and (stand).Noun
(en noun)- And at pavelen...þe]] Erle of Dorzet helde is stale , and he [[took, toke prisoners.
- And syr]] Florence with his C knyghtes [[always, alwey kepte the stale and foughte manly.
- ‘Off mate?’ quod sche...‘thou has fundin stale This mony day’.
- They stand at a stay; Like a Stale at Chesse, where it is no Mate, but yet the Game cannot stirre.
- And he in stale howyd al stil.
- It is a stelling place and sovir harbry, Quhar ost in staill or embuschment may ly.
- The erle]] of Essex...with C. speares was layde in a stale , if the Frenchmen had come [[nearer, neerer.
- [Every time that it shall be ordered..that armed men..shall land on the enemy's coast to seek victuals... then there shall be ordained a sufficient ‘stale ’ of armed men and archers who shall wait together on the land until the ‘forreiours’ return to them].
- [Gawayne] sterttes owtte to hys stede, and with his stale wendes.
- The staill past]] throw the wod with sic noyis...yat all the bestis wer rasit fra thair [[dens, dennys.
- The Lard of Drunlanrig lying al]] thys while in ambush...forbare to breake out to gyue anye charge vppon his enimies, doubting least the Earle of Lennox hadde kept a stale [[behind, behynde.
- Neveryeles I knaw asweill by Englisemen as Scottishmen that their stale was no les then thre thowsand men.
Adjective
(-)- Then drawith he & is stale .
Verb
- He shall stale þe black kyng in the pointe þer the crosse standith.
- In China, however, a player who stales his opponent's King, wins the game.
- For vnder]] cuire I got sik check, that I micht neither muife nor neck, bot ather stale or [[mate, mait.
Etymology 4
Uncertain. Perhaps (etyl) .Oxford English Dictionary . "Stale, n. 5" and "v. 1".Noun
(-)- In werd ben men & womenþat þer stale mown not holde.
- That they be not compelled to eate their owne donge, and drinke their owne stale with you?
- The stale of Camel]]s and Goatsis good for them that have the [[dropsy, dropsie.
- Or annoint thy selfe with the stale of a mule.
- Those of Crotta'' being hardly besieged by ''Metellus , were reduced to so hard a pinch, and strait necessitie of all manner of other beverage, that they were forced to drinke the stale or urine of their horses.
- Thou did'st drinke The stale of Horses.
- Mice and Weasels by their poysonous Stale infect the Trees so, that they produce Worms.
- Sheep, whose Dung and Stale is of most Virtue in the Nourishment of all Trees.
Verb
(stal)- Gif ony stal in the yet of the gilde...he sall]] gif iiij[[old penny, d. to the mendis.
L'éclaircissement de la langue française, 732 1:
- Tary a whyle, your hors wyll staale .
- Why a pox o' your boxe, once againe: let your little wife stale in it, and she will.
- I wonder [the knight's son] doth not go on all four too, and hold up his Leg when he stales .
- Cattle-dung where fuel failed; Water where the mules had staled ; And sackcloth for their raiment.
- You stale' like a mare
And fart as you ' stale
- A mile or two before we got to the meet he stopped at an inn, where he put our horses into the stable for twenty minutes, ‘to give them a chance to stale ’.
Usage notes
Occasionally transitive, when in reference to horses or men pissing blood.Etymology 5
From (etyl) of uncertain etymology, but probably originally from (etyl) '' ("to stand"): compare Flemish ''stel'' in the same sense for beer and urine.''Oxford English Dictionary . "Stale, adj. 1" & "n. 7".Adjective
(er)- Bi]] forn [[wine, win and ale.
- Notemuge]] to putte in ale, Whether it be [[moist, moyste or stale
L'éclaircissement de la langue française, 325 2:
- Stale' as breed or drinke is, ''rassis''. '''Stale as meate is that begynneth to savoure, ''viel .
- New freshe blood to ouersprinkle their stale mete]] that it may [[seem, seme...newly kylled.
- Better is...be it new or stale , A harmelesse lie, than a harmefull true tale.
- Doist thou smyle to reade this stale and beggarlye stuffe.
- How wary, stale , flat, and vnprofitable Seeme to me all the vses of this world?
- A two-days-old newspaper. You resent the stale thing as an affront.
- Rosimunda...hathe an vncle a stale batcheler.
- In barren Women, and stale Maids, Tapping should be very cautiously undertaken.
- Lime would do very little or no good on stale ploughed lands.
- a stale affidavit
- a stale demand
- The jury will rarely give credit to a stale complaint.
- By this means the [horse's] legs are not made more stale than necessary.
- Dame Agnes will probably be stale after her exertions in the Derby.
- Stale cheque,...a cheque which has remained unpaid for some considerable time.
Usage notes
In the third sense regarding food, usually (but not always) pejorative and synonymous with gone bad and turned. In reference to mead, wine, and bread, it can describe an acceptable or desired state (see : crouton). In modern English, however, "stale beer" has been light struck, flat, or oxidized and is to be avoided.Synonyms
* see alsoAntonyms
* freshDerived terms
(der top) * go stale * stale-dated * stale drunk * stale-grown * stale-mouthed * stale-smelling * stale-worn (der bottom)Noun
(en noun)- I went to Riggs's batty-cake shop, and asked 'em for a penneth of the cheapest and nicest stales , that were all but blue-mouldy, but not quite.
- Frayed-looking sweet-cakes...bought as ‘stales ’ from the baker.
Verb
- Stalyn , or make stale drynke, defeco .
- A stock of old porter should be kept, sufficient for staling the consumption of twelve months.
- Ile goe tell all the Argument of his Play aforehand, and so stale his Inuention to the Auditory before it come foorth.
- Not content To stale himselfe in all societies, He makes my house as common as a Mart.
- Age cannot wither her, nor custome stale Her infinite variety.
- Pictures and statues have been staled by copy and description.
- They have got so much of Christ as to be staled of his company.
- Philanthropy was beginning to stale .
- The Drink from that Time flattens and stales .
Derived terms
* antistalingEtymology 6
Probably from uncommon (etyl) . Compare Old English ("catching fish").Oxford English Dictionary . "Stale, n. 3" & "v. 5".Noun
(en noun)- Stale , of fowlynge or byrdys takynge, stacionaria .
- Like vnto the fowlers, that by their stales draw other birdes into their nets.
- A wife thats more then faire is like a stale , Or chanting whistle which brings birds to thrall.
- She ran in all the hast]]
Vnbrased and vnlast...
It was a stale to take
the [[devil, deuyll in a brake.
- The Britaynes]] woulde oftentimes...lay their Cattell...in places conueniente, to bee as a stale to the [[Romans, Romaynes, and when the Romaynes shoulde make to them to fetche the same away,...they would fall vpon them.
- Her daughter Margerit was the stale to lure...them that otherwise flewe hyghe...and could not be gotten.
- ...many of the Coffamen keeping beaytifull boyes, who ?erue as ?tales to procure them cu?tomers.
- Six-pence or a shilling to put into the Box, for a stale to decoy in the rest of the Parish.
- Their mynisters, be false bretherne]] or false sustern, stales of the [[devil, deuyll.
- This is Captain Whibble, the Towne stale , For all cheating imployments.
- I perceiue Lucilla (sayd he) that I was made thy stale , and Philautus thy laughinge stocke.
- Was I then chose and wedded for his stale ?
- Did I for this loose all my friends...to be made A stale to a common whore?
- But, too vnruly Deere, he breakes the pale And feedes from home; poore I am but his stale .
- This comes of rutting: Are we made stales to one another?
- That of the two nominated, one should be an unfit Man, and as it were a Stale , to bring the Office to the other.
- Had he none else to make a stale but me?
- Eurydice...meaning nothing lesse than to let her husband serue as a Stale , keeping the throne warme till another were growne old enough to sit in it.
- A pretence of kindness is the universal stale to all base projects.
- Spare not to tell him, that he hath wronged his honor in marrying the renowned Claudio...to a contaminated stale .
- But to be leaft for such a one as she, The stale of all, what will folke thinke of me?
- ...detesting as he said the insatiable impudency of a prostitute Stale .
- 'Tis the living bird that makes the best stale to draw others into the net.
- If my live birds aren't all drownded and my stales spoiled.
Verb
- The eye...Doth serue to stale her here and there where she doth come and go.